3GSM World Congress

Last month, I finally realized my dream of attending the most important mobile phone event of the year, the 3GSM World Congress. The event had shifted from Cannes to a more temperate Barcelona. The Fira de Barcelona Center was a more appropriate venue, accommodating the 50,000 participants who jammed its clusters of exhibit halls. Our company, Chikka Asia Inc., which is behind the popular Internet-to-mobile phone messaging application Chikka Messenger, was the only Filipino company that exhibited at the event. This definitely established Chikka as the leader and pioneer in wireless application services development from the world’s "text capital." I believe this was an excellent opportunity to showcase our Filipino-developed mobile messaging-based applications and platforms among a very distinguished line-up of participants such as operators Vodafone, T-Mobile, DoCoMo, and Telefonica and handset makers Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, to name just a few.

Our exhibit space was dwarfed by the massive displays put up by these leading telecom and manufacturing giants. Each of them had floor areas the size of homes with panels of LCD displays on all walls and hosted by numerous gorgeous-looking product specialists able to intelligently explain their products. One thing I will always remember is watching telecom CEOs and executives trying to squeeze into the Microsoft booth where the new Windows Mobile 5.0 was being presented. What a sight to see their $2,000 suits getting wrinkled as they fought to get a view of the live product demo. This year’s conference had for its keynote speakers Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer, Nokia president and chief operating officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuio and Ericsson president and chief executive officer Carl-Henric Svanberg.

So what was the buzz at the 3GSM, you might ask? There was a general theme that was so blatant – DATA. Anything related to data was well represented; whether you were in manufacturing, content or solutions. This is actually still a carry-over of last year. This year promises a more aggressive deployment of High Speed Data Packet Access (HSDPA) and much-improved 3G coverage, which most say is starting to make the "wireless Web" now look more like a reality. To further bolster adoption, 3G handsets have now become more affordable and as such, have been attracting a lot more buyers. Even in the Philippines, just lately you can acquire a free Nokia 3G handset by signing up on a Plan 1800. I, too, was astounded by the abundance of 3G content which will surely drive subscriber usage. I got to test-drive downloadable digital music and video streaming and even tried the adult fare like mobile gambling and adult entertainment. Based on its research, Inform predicts that by 2010, about 640 million people worldwide will be using 3G.

Taking from conversations I had at the conference with the other participants, I gathered that the only hump for 3G is that its networks may not be up to the task of providing the proper bandwidth for the rich content, as such affecting user experience. This is the reason why enhancements like HSDPA or 3.5 G, which is touted to be faster than some broadband Internet connections, is now being deployed by some carriers. Another factor that’s also further firing up the carriers even before their 3G return on investment begins to materialize is the emergence of new competing technologies like Mobile WiMax and Wi-Fi which promise DSL-like connections on the go. Obviously, the dynamics of the business is changing. Telecom operators are now finding it necessary to start bundling all these services into a subscriber’s billing statement.  

Another buzz at 3GSM was mobile TV. Manufacturers and alike showcased the various standards whether they be DMB or DVB-H. I personally think that the market would surely appreciate another service that would entertain them, but are the networks and handset makers ready to deliver on the experience? I cannot imagine operating mobile TV on my current N70 handset; I would be so stressed out and worried that my mobile phones battery would get depleted that I would be unable to make a voice call. So what I’m trying to get across is, please make network upgrades first, figure out a revenue model and invent a battery that can be used all week without the need for recharging, before creating so much hype.

So for all the new business acquaintances we made – all 500 calling cards’ worth – and the numerous tapas meals that made me swear not to eat Spanish food till next year, 3GSM was a great experience and a dream come true. 

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Patrick R. Garcia is the managing director of Bidshot Wireless Services. For comments or suggestions, e-mail [email protected]